Alfred Nobel is often associated with Stockholm, science, or the prestigious Nobel Prize ceremony. Yet, it’s less known that his story also intersects a Parisian suburb: Sevran, in Seine-Saint-Denis. And indeed, it’s in this town in the 93 that the Swedish scientist lived and worked for part of his life. At the end of the 19th century, he bought a property at Fayet, in Sevran, and set up a laboratory there. The site would become one of his favored workplaces during his years in France.
Alfred Nobel was born in Stockholm in 1833. He was at once a chemist, engineer, inventor, entrepreneur and man of letters. In his lifetime, he held 355 patents and worked on numerous innovations, notably in the field of explosives. He is best known for developing dynamite, patented in 1867, an invention that made the transport and use of nitroglycerin—then highly dangerous to handle—much easier. Nobel was not merely a scientist: he was also a highly active industrialist, heading companies and laboratories across many countries.
Alfred Nobel was seeking locations suited to his research, away from central Paris and with enough room to conduct experiments. In that spirit, he bought a property in Sevran, northeast of Paris, in 1881. At the time, the area offered a more open, discreet, and above all practical setting for chemical work. On one hand, the Fayet site gave him a laboratory in an environment better fit for his needs than his Paris address. On the other hand, it was near the Poudrerie Nationale de Sevran-Livry, whose legacy survives today in the park that bears its name. He thus decided to establish his laboratory there as early as 1882.
There he set up his laboratory from 1882 onward. The presence of the Poudrerie nationale de Sevran-Livry in the area also influenced the choice. In other words, Sevran wasn't just Nobel's secondary residence: it was a genuine workplace, connected to his research, his experiments, and his professional life.
Parc de la Poudrerie, a listed green nugget in Sevran (93)
Fifteen kilometers from the Bassin de la Villette, along the Canal de l'Ourcq, lies a lovely 137-hectare forest park in the Seine-Saint-Denis municipalities of Livry-Gargan, Villepinte, Sevran and Vaujours. Combining remnants of the area's industrial past with immense tree-lined avenues, it's one of the green spaces not to be missed for a bike ride, family outing or jogging session... in the 93. [Read more]
Nobel's stint in Sevran hasn't disappeared completely. The most enduring trace remains first and foremost the domaine du Fayet, i.e., the property he bought in 1881 where he set up his laboratory from 1882. The main building, known as the maison du Fayet, served for a long time as the town hall after the commune bought it in 1892. Added to that is a more visible commemorative mark in public space: a monument in black granite and a commemorative stone were unveiled in Sevran in November 1996, to mark the centenary of Alfred Nobel's death. L
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